Welcome to the latest issue of HIQA News. In this issue, we report on a number of important developments in the fields of health technology assessment, regulation, standards development and the views and experiences of patients.
As our remit is set to grow, we are currently developing our next corporate plan for 2019 to 2021, which is aimed at continuing our mission to improve standards across health and social care services.
Working with people providing these services and listening to people receiving them is an effective driver of change, and we plan to continue this approach under the new corporate plan.
How we can improve how we ourselves develop standards is currently the focus of a major review being taken by HIQA, and to this end we have consulted with a large number of health agencies and organisations around the world.
The findings from this review will help inform our approach to the 2019–2021 corporate plan. Also influencing our work is the voice of people using health and social care services, across a range of areas.
In this issue of HIQA News, we report on our public consultation on a draft health technology assessment (HTA) of extending the current Human Papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation programme to include HPV vaccination of boys.
This is one of four public consultations that we currently have underway, as we are also seeking your views on:
- national standards for adult safeguarding
- a draft standard on the information requirements that will be needed for the introduction of community-based ePrescribing in Ireland
- a health information standard to specify the clinical information needed for a national electronic patient summary.
All these initiatives will have a far reaching impact on the quality and safety of services into the future. Meanwhile, thanks to all who have contributed to date to the 2018 National Patient Experience Survey; so far, we have received over 20,000 comments from patients about services.
In this issue of HIQA News, we report on the other work of our Health Information and Standards team, and of our valued inspection teams who play a key role, with your help, in improving day-to-day standards in hospitals, children’s services, nursing homes and residential centres for people with disabilities.
Until the next time, best wishes.
Phelim Quinn